Code Upgrades In HTML5 Brought For Front-End Development
The update about the release of new features in HTML5 has drawn all the attention since last year. It is the new generation language for front end developers which is packed with all-new cool features. It has come with a lot of improvements and fresh elements. The developers are still trying to catch up with the new functionalities and features introduced in HTML5 release.
The update about the release of new features in HTML5 has drawn all the attention since last year. It is the new generation language for front end developers which is packed with all-new cool features. It has come with a lot of improvements and fresh elements. The developers are still trying to catch up with the new functionalities and features introduced in HTML5 release.
The transition from HTML4 to the new one will take some time for developers to get used to. We all know that in the technical field every day a new release is coming up and things that we have learned in the past have changed or rather we should say, become obsolete. So, instead of complaining about the pain that it has caused, move forward with a positive attitude:
Herein some important changes that front end developers are appreciating in the language since its release.
1. The New Doctype
Doctype is the basic thing you find in HTML. The Doctype declaration tells the browser that this page is written in HTML5. The new Doctype is small, meaningful and easy to remember.
Syntax:
<!DOCTYPE html>
The reason that they used “HTML” rather than “HTML 5” in the updated version was to tell a browser that the current document was written in HTML5. <!DOCTYPE html5> triggers Quirks Mode in IE6. New Doctype syntax is beneficial when developers want to consider the previous version’s compatibility <!DOCTYPE html> is a pretty good choice.
2. HTML 5 New Elements
The new elements introduced in HTML 5 stand out from the crowd and have everything from basic structural elements like Header, and Footer, to innovative Canvas and Audio. These powerful elements allow any front end development company to create user-friendly applications and distance itself away from reliance on flash plugins.
Many sites have begun using the HTML5 Video feature over Adobe Flash for saving data and intense animation.
The new structural elements
<header> To add the introductory information on the website page or any particular section of a page, the header element is used.
<nav> To add the links on the page, the nav element is used. It links one page to another or one section to another.
<section> To add any generic document or section, section elements are introduced in HTML5. It acts much the same way a <div> does by separating off a portion of the document.
<article> To add a standalone section on a page for either blog or forum entry, an article tag is used. It can be used where the user submits replies and responds to any question.
<aside> To add content related to the main area of the document, the aside element is used. Usually, they are expressed in sidebars that contain elements like related posts, tag clouds, etc.
<footer> To add the footer on any section contained in a page or the entire application, the footer element is used. So, it’s very expected that front end developers will be using the element multiple times within one page.
These elements in HTML5 are not just simple elements replacing DIVs but it can be used as classes as well which can be used multiple times at multiple places
The benefit of these structural elements in a web page is that they are extremely well defined in the code and is a great way to structure your document semantically.
3. Transition from XHTML Made Easy
For people who are coming from HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.0, know that all elements syntax are very similar to each other and there are very little syntax differences. Writing even a single character extra can create error and invalidate code.
Keeping this in mind, HTML5 has come with the solution with built-in “slack” to make the transition a bit easier. People who are used to self-closing tags will find this transition helpful. For example, when marking up a form in HTML5, this is the proper syntax for an input text element:
<input type="text" id="name">
But this is also accepted as valid code in an attempt to ease the pain for avid XHTML coders.
<input type="text" id="name"/>
4. API Compatibility
The APIs are of great importance where mobile development is also needed with web applications. HTML5 has come up with numerous benefits for mobile app developers where APIs and web services are needed to be integrated within web application code.
With the release of HTML5, several smartphone platforms recognize HTML5 features and are compatible with Android and IOS platforms. HTML5 has encouraged the development of mobile applications needed for the websites that use it.
The supported capabilities can now be easily used in the language and can be expanded with JavaScript used in the code.
Few Of The HTML5 APIs that support other platforms are :
- Drag & Drop – The drag and drop API defines an event-based drag and drop system. This API requires JavaScript to fully work as a normal think drag and drop functionality.
- Video & Audio – The audio & video APIs have shown substantial upgrades in media embedding. Audio and video embedding have become easier.
- Geolocation – Geolocation is another important API widely used in applications nowadays, available within HTML5. Its object can be used to programmatically determine location information through a device’s user agent.
The Benefits of Using HTML5
With the introduction of new elements and attributes, the benefits of HTML5 are very obvious. The latest features have helped front end developers in creating user-friendly easy to use applications. Here are some of the major benefits of HTML5:-
- Using HTML5 helps to eliminate most
<div>tags and replace them with semantic elements. Designers can now use cleaner and neater code. - The major benefits of HTML5 include elegant forms, user interface enhancements, reduced need for JavaScript, and forms validation native to HTML.
- With its new features and standards, HTML5 makes it easier to create front-end applications such as drag and drop tools, discussion boards, and other useful elements.
- With the new HTML5 Geolocation and API compatibility feature, APIs make location directly available to any HTML5 compatible browser-based application.
- To reduce cookie size, HTML5 allows session storage and local storage and It stores the structured data temporarily.
- The standardized code of HTML5 elements enriches the semantic value of the web page. With the specific tags for the headers, nav, footers, etc, the designers know the meaning and purpose in the whole format.
- Using HTML5 to design a web page, one can easily understand the structure of the web page and make it easier for designers.
- HTML5 features like
<video>,<audio>, charts, high-quality drawings, animations, and the integration of SVG content allow easy integration of multimedia and graphical content to the web without using flash and third party plugging. <section>,<article>,<header>,<nav>, enhances the semantic value of the document.<Content editable>allows the user to edit any of the text contained within the element, including its children.- HTML5 offers email inputs that allow you to instruct the browser to allow only strings confirming email addresses.
- Placeholders and local storage grouped in for the Convenience stake in HTML5.
- Easily create sliders with the range of input.
Conclusion
HTML5 upgrades are for front end developers and are used by web designers for practical reasons. HTML5 is packed with encouraging semantics, code slimming techniques and has reduced the overlap between HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
These cool new features have helped the front end developers in developing applications that are compatible with browsers and smartphone platforms. The purpose of the profound changes to the language was to standardize the many new ways in which developers were using it, as well as to encourage a single set of best practices with regards to web development.
For people, who are still in the dilemma of why one should use HTML5, the only answer would be “It is the right version of the language”. So, if you are new to the upgraded version, spend some time browsing the new features to know what new in it and get comfortable with it.